I don't know how to tell when the 6 years is up on these two credit card bills. DOLA is only listed on Equifax and AA is reporting them as 5 months later than the OC's TU, and EX just have date of status, and status as of, so they don't really tell ... No we don't have any statements or anything of that nature, they were opened in 5/98, 1/99. And never paid on time. Equifax has the box labeled month 5/98 as 2 months late, even though the account opened the same month.
Don't confuse the SOL for collecting and the reporting period for your credit reports. The reporting period is based on when the account went delinquent and was never again brought current. Making a payment, or even arrangements to pay, resets the SOL for collections. That's why it's so important not to talk to CAs on the phone. You may end up restarting the clock. So it depends what you are referring to.
If you're looking for the time until the account drops off your credit report, this is 7 years from the date of original delinquency. If you go 30 days delinquent in, say, October of 1998, and this escalates into a chargeoff, then the beginning date is 10/98. No subsequent collection agency can change this, and if they do it is a violation. Therefore, no matter what else the collection agency says, the account must drop off your credit profile on 10/05. Then there's the statute of limitations on legal proceedings relating to written contracts, which varies by state. It's the point after which you can plead an absolute defense of "out of statute" if a collector attempts to take you to court.
And don't forget, that date of original delinquency (October of 1998 in my example) may not show up on your consumer credit report. Don't assume that the Date of Last Activity or Status Date or Open Date is the one used by the CRAs to calculate 7 years. You pretty much have to call the CRA and check it verbally.
I understand the 7 year issue... but when does the SOL begin, first late payment ? charge off? payment that led to charge off???
As I said, the SOL for collecting is reset by any payment, and in many cases, just by a promise to pay. So if you've made payments, the SOL would start from your last payment, unless since that time you've made a promise to pay. Then it starts from that date.
